Professors Caçoilo and Cherow-O’Leary
Imagery, Identity, and Culture
“Constructing” an identity can mean a variety of things. One can construct an identity through experiencing events like having relationships, making new connections, or even through personality traits. Incorporating the class discussion into this “construction”, authors like Bell Hooks “construct” an identity through her experience with her father and the marbles as she’s told what she is told she could and could not do. What this experience ultimately did for Hooks was that it showed her an identity that was forced upon her father and other members of the patriarchy.
The second artwork to catch my eye was Kehinde Wiley’s Matar Mbaye. This piece gives the viewer a look at a portrait of a youth from Senegal by the name of Matar Mbaye. Identity is constructed here by using elements of color and items from Senegal to construct a unique identity for Matar. What this creates for the piece is to incorporate colorful elements from African fabrics that come with a colonial past. Some would say that this piece is an autobiography of a self-portrait of how Wiley sees himself or how he identifies himself to be. All in all, this artwork displays an identity that illustrates one’s true colors.
The third artwork that attracted me was Fahamu Pecou’s Rock.Well: Radiant, Pop, Champ. What was interesting in this artwork was that it was a reference to a previous artwork, Norman Rockwell’s Triple Self Portrait. The original piece featured Rockwell’s three most influential things in his life. Pecou’s take on Rockwell’s piece features his influences such as Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Muhammad Ali. This creates a self-portrait, but this one is unlike Matar Mbaye as this is more directly about the self instead of being illustrated through a muse. Overall, the identity that is constructed in this work is through Pecou’s influences and how he wants to portray himself to the public.
The fourth artwork that created a lot of appeal to me was Cindy Sherman’s Untitled #402. This artwork constructs an American identity in a variety of ways. The outfit that Sherman wears is star-spangled and features colors and patterns that are on the American flag. She also wears a hat that is similar to what suffragettes wore years ago. What made this artwork very interesting was that it was set right to a presidential portrait of George Washington. Even though the two are completely different people, some could say that their patriotism is similar. This goes to show how Sherman illustrates a cultural identity through the use of color and patterns.
Finally, the fifth piece of art displayed at the museum was Lorna Simpson’s Coiffure. There are many reasons why this piece can appeal to the public eye as well as construct an identity. One of those reasons is based on the fact that it is shot in black and white, which creates a perspective of how to view the artwork. Compared to the other works discussed, this is the only one that uses this color scheme. The piece gives the viewer three different perspectives to look at, a bird’s eye view, a view from behind, and a view from a mask. What these perspectives do is that they allow viewers to see things in different ways. The identity that this constructs is through the braiding of hair which can be seen from the first perspective and from the words below.
The third artwork that attracted me was Fahamu Pecou’s Rock.Well: Radiant, Pop, Champ. What was interesting in this artwork was that it was a reference to a previous artwork, Norman Rockwell’s Triple Self Portrait. The original piece featured Rockwell’s three most influential things in his life. Pecou’s take on Rockwell’s piece features his influences such as Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Muhammad Ali. This creates a self-portrait, but this one is unlike Matar Mbaye as this is more directly about the self instead of being illustrated through a muse. Overall, the identity that is constructed in this work is through Pecou’s influences and how he wants to portray himself to the public.
The fourth artwork that created a lot of appeal to me was Cindy Sherman’s Untitled #402. This artwork constructs an American identity in a variety of ways. The outfit that Sherman wears is star-spangled and features colors and patterns that are on the American flag. She also wears a hat that is similar to what suffragettes wore years ago. What made this artwork very interesting was that it was set right to a presidential portrait of George Washington. Even though the two are completely different people, some could say that their patriotism is similar. This goes to show how Sherman illustrates a cultural identity through the use of color and patterns.
Finally, the fifth piece of art displayed at the museum was Lorna Simpson’s Coiffure. There are many reasons why this piece can appeal to the public eye as well as construct an identity. One of those reasons is based on the fact that it is shot in black and white, which creates a perspective of how to view the artwork. Compared to the other works discussed, this is the only one that uses this color scheme. The piece gives the viewer three different perspectives to look at, a bird’s eye view, a view from behind, and a view from a mask. What these perspectives do is that they allow viewers to see things in different ways. The identity that this constructs is through the braiding of hair which can be seen from the first perspective and from the words below.
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